Sarah K. Andrew, Equine Photographer

Wizard Ride 167: This is a Test

Muggy, sticky, humid. Blech. I rode Wizard indoors for a change of scenery. After our warmup, we continued our work on transitions. Walk, trot, walk, halt, etc. We did transitions on serpentines, on circles, and on straightaways. I re-introduced shoulder-in and we practiced it on the long sides in each direction. Right was far better than left, but that’s because I ride way better to the right :^P When I got him nicely engaged, I asked for a canter. On the right lead, it took several tries. On the left lead, he picked up the wrong lead as well, making me wonder if I need to keep tinkering with my signals.

On a lark, I rode Training Level, Test One. OK, it was a loose interpretation! We did not exactly stick the transitions, etc, but I was thrilled that he can ride the basic shapes and perform the basic tasks. Of course, we would have gotten the lowest score ever, but it was a fun exercise.

After the ride, I hosed him off, gave him some alfalfa, and put him to bed.

I am really going to have to make an effort to start getting better shots of our horses now. Time to quit being lazy!

We’ve not been working this week because even though it’s been 95 for most of this summer, it’s felt hotter than that to me this past week. I’m going to have to get up a lot, lot earlier and start working my 3!